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Telegraph
18-05-2025
- Telegraph
Ex-warden who slept with prisoner ‘wanted a stable life'
A disgraced prison officer who slept with an inmate has said she did it because she wanted a stable life. Cherri-Ann Austin-Saddington, 29, had a six-month relationship with Bradley Trengrove while working as a warden at HMP The Verne, on the Isle of Portland in Dorset. Trengrove was serving 13 years for raping a woman and having sexual activity with a child. They had relations as many as 40 times, often in empty prison workshops. The mother of three became pregnant by Trengrove but later lost the baby. After the inmate was moved to another prison, she visited him with an empty Calpol syringe in her bra so she could artificially inseminate herself with his sperm, which he had wrapped in cling film for her. Austin-Saddington, from Weymouth, pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office, but avoided jail with a two-year suspended sentence. In an interview with MailOnline, she said she was relieved not to be imprisoned. She added that she knew Trengrove was a sex offender before the relationship began but said he had told her he was framed. Austin-Saddington said: 'I wanted a stable life. That's what I wanted. I think I was just looking for someone to support me. I wanted that stable life that I wasn't getting anywhere else. 'When the relationship started, I was homeless... I was trying to look after my family as well as deal with life as a mum of three kids and working and being put into temporary accomodation with the kids.' She added: 'He would come to me and would say: 'I'm going to build a house for us. Your children are going to have a home. When I get out in a few months ... we're not going to have anything to worry about.'' Speaking about how she felt about having an affair with a convicted rapist, she said: 'I don't believe that he's innocent at all. It's disgusting. 'It's not something that is not nice to hear, or even think about. I feel disgusted. I'm ashamed of what's happened.'
The Sun
18-05-2025
- The Sun
I knew he was a rapist, says prison guard who smuggled Calpol syringe into jail in bid to get pregnant with lag's sperm
A BESOTTED prison officer who smuggled a Calpol syringe into jail to "artificially inseminate" herself with a lag's sperm "knew he was a sex offender". Cherri-Ann Saddington, 29, became obsessed with "exceptionally dangerous" Bradley Trengrove after he was moved to HMP The Verne on Portland, Dorset. 6 It has now been reported the officer was aware of his crimes but believed he would give her "a stable life", as reported by the Mail. The pair embarked on a six month relationship where they often had sex in prison workshops while nobody was around. A court heard Saddington and Trengrove had sex up to 40 times while she was on duty, although she disputes this figure. She became pregnant with his baby, but suffered a miscarriage. When Trengrove, 31, was moved to another prison she visited him using a fake name. She then smuggled a Calpol syringe in her bra so she could "artificially inseminate" herself with his sperm he had wrapped in cling film for her. Saddington has now admitted she knew he was a sex offender when she chose to strike up the relationship. "I knew he was a sex offender because it was sex offenders' prison," she said. "I wanted a stable life. That's what I wanted. I don't know why I even entertained the idea of Bradley. "I think I was just looking for someone to support me. I wanted that stable life that I wasn't getting anywhere else." Besotted prison officer caught sneaking into cupboard with inmate she 'proper fell in love with' is jailed It has also been revealed Saddington became entangled in another relationship just two months after her shock arrest. She is now married to him and spoke of her "relief" at being handed a suspended sentence. Her startling confession comes after Saddington, from Weymouth, was given a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to charges of misconduct in a public office. Trengrove, from Cramborne, Cornwall, was already serving a 13-year extended sentence for raping a woman and having sexual activity with a child in 2013 and 2014. 6 6 He was given another two years and three months to serve on top of his original sentence for his part in the sordid affair. Saddington spoke more of what led her into the relationship with Trengrove. She claimed to be "broken" and "homeless" after the dad of her two children left her. The former prison officer said things were "difficult" while struggling in temporary accommodation. After reflecting on her ordeal she blamed Trengrove for being "manipulative" and taking advantage of her vulnerable position. She argued the inmate fed her lies about building a home for them when he was released - which he claimed was in a few months time. According to the disgraced prison officer, the lag also begged her to have a baby with him. She claimed he removed her IUD coil himself and she fell pregnant shortly afterwards. However, the pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Saddington alleged Trengrove then threatened to kill himself if he couldn't have a child with her. "He told me to bring a syringe in and was asking me to to inseminate myself with it, which I was absolutely disgusted by when he said it," she added. The mum-of-two claimed she never had any intention to follow through with the plan, but did not want her prison lover to harm himself. Despite knowing he was a sex offender, the mum-of-two admitted she believed he had been framed for his rape and sexual activity with a minor. After being told by police the true nature of his crimes, Saddington said she was "shocked", "honestly disgusted", and "ashamed". This comes after Bournemouth Crown Court heard Saddington started working as a prison officer at The Verne, where Gary Glitter is reportedly serving his sentence, in July 2019. She was given a written warning in 2020 for concerns over her professionalism and interaction with prisoners. Her probationary period was extended because she was suspected of having an inappropriate relationship with two prisoners. The court heard the mother-of-three saved Trengrove's name in her mobile under "husband to be". Robert Bryan, prosecuting, read out some gushing messages the prison officer sent Trengrove stating he was "the one", that she would love him "til my last breath" and he was her "reason for living". Mr Bryan said: "He said things moved on from being friendly in August-September 2022. "He said, 'I did maintenance work around the prison, there were lots of workshops, we would meet down at the workshops where less people were around. "'It got to the point she was coming in for work on days off and we would work together for three or four hours at a time.' "He said they had unprotected sex 30-40 times. She told him in November she was pregnant with his baby. "He encouraged her to be less risky but she said that would mean less opportunity to meet. "She lost the baby at about eight weeks." Trengrove was moved to HMP Channings Wood in Devon in March 2023. Sadddington sent Trengrove intimate photos while he was at Channings Wood, but these were intercepted by staff. On May 26 she visited him under a false name. During a pat down search officers found she was not wearing any underwear and had the empty syringe in her bra and she was arrested. Emily Cook, defending Saddington, argued that her client shouldn't be jailed due to her ill health. She said: "She had this incredibly devastating physical event that has occurred since her offending. "In February 2024, her then partner awoke to find her on the floor. She doesn't know how but something was going on with her spine. "She is wheelchair-dependent. She has had her liberty curtailed for many months, not by the court but by her ill health. "You can see from the messaging, they formed a very intense and infatuated relationship. She takes full responsibility for what she did. She is very ashamed and upset. "You are not sentencing the woman who committed these offences, she's a very different woman now." Nick Robinson, defending Trengrove, said it was a "genuine infatuation", he was not corrupting her. He said: "Everything was driven towards having conversation with someone he genuinely cared about. "Before this he was a good prisoner, working hard towards the earliest possible release. "He knew what he was doing, his heart ruled his head." Judge Jonathan Fuller KC told Saddington: "The prison service expects the highest standards from their employees. "Failure to apply those standards can have an enormous and lasting impact on the prisons, the care of inmates, the integrity which is to be maintained and, of course, public confidence. "Your betrayal of that trust represents a serious and prolonged misconduct by someone in public office. "I am mindful of your current physical state and pending rehabilitation. For that reason only I reduce the sentence in order to suspend it. "Had it not been for the accident that befell Miss Austin-Saddington the sentence would have been an immediate sentence of imprisonment." He added: "The intensity of their feelings towards each other, as shown in the messages, could perhaps be described as mutual obsession with each other. "The expressed intention was that they should spend the rest of their lives together. "This was a relationship of equal halves, both making the wrong decision." 6 6
Daily Mail
18-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE 'I knew he was a sex offender... but I wanted a stable life': Prison officer reveals shame of sordid affair with convicted rapist after she was spared jail for behind bars fling
A female prison officer who tried to start a family with a rapist inmate she fell in love with has admitted she knew he was a sex offender - but believed he would provide her a 'stable life'. Cherri-Ann Austin-Saddington, 29, told MailOnline of her 'relief' that she was this week spared jail after admitting a six-month illicit affair with sex attacker Bradley Trengrove while working as a warden at HMP The Verne in Portland, Dorset. Saddington and Trengrove, who was serving 13 years for raping a woman and having sexual activity with a child, started their fling in August 2022 and had sex up to 40 times, often in prison workshops where nobody could see, her trial heard. The female prison warden told Trengrove she was pregnant in November 2022, although she later miscarried after eight weeks. After the 'extremely dangerous' inmate was transferred to another prison in March 2023, she visited him under a false name with a Calpol syringe in her bra to try and 'artificially inseminate' herself with his sperm, which he had wrapped in cling film. Saddington, from Weymouth, was arrested after prison officers found she was not wearing underwear and had the empty syringe in her bra during the visit on May 26 2023. Speaking exclusively to MailOnline after she avoided jail, Saddington admitted: 'I knew he was a sex offender because it was sex offenders' prison.' She added: 'I wanted a stable life. That's what I wanted. I don't know why I even entertained the idea of Bradley. I think I was just looking for someone to support me. I wanted that stable life that I wasn't getting anywhere else.' MailOnline can also reveal that just two months after being arrested, Saddington started a new relationship with another man, whom she is now married to. Saddington, who started working at HMP The Verne in 2019, pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office, but was spared jail after a judge suspended her sentence for two years due to her being left in a wheelchair from a spinal stroke following her crimes. 'It's been a bit of a relief that it's been suspended,' she told MailOnline. Saddington revealed that her relationship with Trengrove began when she was a 'broken person' and 'homeless' after her relationship with the father of two of her children ended. She claimed she joined the Prison Service in 2019 to 'go in and make a difference' but soon realised 'that's not what the prison service is about' and struggled to work in a men's jail. Timeline of prison guard's shame July 2019: Saddington starts working at HMP The Verne January 2022: Bradley Trengrove is transferred to The Verne to serve his 13-year sentence for rape and having sexual activity with a child. August 2022: The prison guard and inmate start an illicit relationship, having sex up to 40 times. November 2022: Saddington tells Trengrove she is pregnant but she loses the baby after around eight weeks. March 2023: Trengrove is moved to HMP Channings Wood in Devon. May 2023: Saddington attempts to visit Trengrove under a false name with a Calpol syringe so she can collect his sperm and 'artificially inseminate' herself. She is arrested after the visit. November 2023: Saddington gets engaged to her new partner, whom she met in July that year - two months after her arrest. February 2024: She suffers a stroke of the spine and is left paralysed and in a wheelchair. May 2025: Saddington avoids jail after the judge handed her a two-year suspended sentence due to her life-changing injury. She has hailed her new partner as her 'rock' who has got her through the accident. 'When the relationship [with Trengrove] started, I was homeless, there was a lot going on with my family. I was trying to look after my family as well as deal with life as a mum of three kids and working and being put into temporary accomodation with the kids. 'Things were very difficult. I didn't have anybody to turn to or talk to. I just wasn't in a very good place or a stable mind at the time and Bradley came along.' She continued: 'I look back at it now, and I see how manipulative his behaviour was at the time. At the time I saw somebody trying to help me out.' When asked if she knew he was a rapist, she said: 'I knew he was a sex offender because it's a sex offenders' prison.' But she claims he told him that he would be out in three months and had been framed over the rape and sexual activity with a minor. Saddington said: 'When the police read me his sheet of offences I was so shocked and honestly disgusted. He's a very dangerous man.' Speaking about how she feels about having sex with a convicted rapist, she said: 'I don't believe that he's innocent at all. It's disgusting. 'It's not something that is not nice to hear, or even think about. I feel disgusted. 'I'm ashamed of what's happened.' During the affair, Saddington smuggled a mobile phone into the Category C prison for her lover so they could communicate. The mother-of-three saved his name in her mobile under 'husband to be', a court heard. Her lawyer said they 'formed a very intense and infatuated relationship'. Speaking about their relationship, she said: 'There were a lot of feelings involved at the time. He would come to me and would say "I'm going to build a house for us, I've spoken to my family, I've got a plot of land. Your children are going to have a home. '"When I get out in a few months like this is all going to be over like we're not going to have anything to worry about."' Saddington claims that although the trial heard the pair had sex 30 to 40 times, she can 'count on my hands how many times we had sex'. She alleges that he kept saying he wanted to have a baby with her but she was on the coil - an IUD which prevents pregnancy by releasing copper into the womb. 'He removed my coil from me,' she claimed. 'After that, we had unprotected sex. I did fall pregnant and I had a miscarriage a few weeks after.' In March 2023, Trengrove was moved to HMP Channnings Wood in Devon, where Saddington tried to send him intimate photos which staff intercepted. She was finally snared when she tried to visit him using a fake name on May 26 2023, when she tried to smuggle in a syringe to collect his sperm. Saddington admits she took a Calpol syringe into prison to 'inseminate' herself with Trengrove's sperm - but claims she was never going to go through with trying to get pregnant that way. 'Whilst I was sat outside the prison waiting to go in - and he'd been phoning me that morning as well - he was telling me that he wanted a baby with me. If he couldn't have that, then he was going to kill himself. 'He told me to bring a syringe in and was asking me to to inseminate myself with it, which I was absolutely disgusted by when he said it. 'I took the syringe in just so I could show him I had it so he didn't do anything to himself. It wasn't so I could carry out what he planned.' Saddington was then arrested after prison officers found the syringe. Speaking of the moment she was caught, she said: 'I just felt sick to be honest. I didn't know what to do with myself. 'I remember them taking me into the cell and strip searching me.' Saddington met her new partner just two months after being arrested and they tied the knot in November 2024. 'He knew everything from the start. I told him everything from the start,' she said. The couple have just moved into a new house which is more suited to her disability. Saddington was left wheelchair-bound after suffering a spinal stroke in February 2024 - which is why the judge ruled she should be spared jail. Judge Jonathan Fuller KC said: 'Had it not been for the accident that befell Miss Austin-Saddington, the sentence would have been an immediate sentence of imprisonment.' In a message to other female prison officers falling for inmates, Saddington said: 'If people are having a tough time, then they need to reach out to somebody else. 'There is help out there for for officers that need it. 'What I did I massively regret and I am ashamed of it and disgusted.' Sources close to the mother-of-three say she has 'gotten away' with not going to jail. One told MailOnline: 'She never was a nice person. She's never going to change. She's gotten away with it really. I don't understand it [the fling], especially with three young kids, I don't understand it at all.' And a landlady, who rented her Weymouth flat out to Saddington between December 2022 and March 2025, said she was 'not surprised at all' that the prison guard ended up having a fling with an inmate 'I think it's her character to be honest. There are so many young women having the same - falling in love with inmates. I can't comprehend it.' The landlady said it was 'not fair' that she'd been spared jail for having a fling with a rapist inmate, adding: 'This is something that's not humanly possible. My mind would never imagine or comprehend this situation.' Saddington has hailed her new partner, who has 'loveable c***' tattooed across his chest, as her 'rock' who has got her through her life-changing accident. The besotted couple have also stayed together during the trial, which started at Poole Magistrates' Court in August 2024 and came to a close with the sentencing at Bournemouth Crown Court this week.
Daily Mirror
18-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Wildest prison officer flings - sperm syringe to jail baby and smuggled knickers
As guard Cherri-Ann Austin-Saddington was given a suspended sentence after 'artificially inseminating' herself with her prison lover's sperm, the Mirror takes a look at other shocking staff-prisoner flings They're supposed to be locking up, not hooking up. But a wave of female prison officers have landed themselves in hot water after getting too close to the inmates they're meant to keep in line. The latest is Cherri-Ann Austin-Saddington, 29, who, as a prison officer at HMP The Verne in Portland, Dorset, fell for 'extremely dangerous' inmate, sex offender Bradley Trengrove, 31. The pair had sex on as many as 40 occasions while she was on duty, and she became pregnant with Trengrove's baby, but suffered a miscarriage. The infatuated officer, who had the lag's name on her phone as 'husband to be', then tried to get pregnant again by 'artificially inseminating' himself with his sperm in a Calpol syringe. Mum-of-three Austin-Saddington narrowly missed seeing the inside of a jail cell herself after she was handed a suspended sentence for misconduct in a public office last week. But by no means is she the only prison officer caught in a steamy fling with an inmate. According to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), 19 members of prison staff were charged with misconduct in public office between 2023 and 2024 - the highest number of lock-up liaisons in the past 10 years. Here we look at some of the others… Kerri Pegg On Friday, a prison governor was jailed for nine years for having a relationship with a drug-dealing gang boss at HMP Kirkham in Lancashire. Kerri Pegg, 42, was seen as a "rising star" of the Prison Service, climbing the career ladder from graduate to governor in six years. But her trial heard she "didn't play by the rules" and began a relationship with major Liverpool crime figure Anthony Saunderson, helping him secure day release. Sentencing her at Preston Crown Court, Judge Graham Knowles KC told her: "You betrayed the public trust in you and you betrayed the Prison Service." Tracy Boateng Last week, prison officer Tracy Boateng, 27, avoided jail after having a fling with a drug-dealing inmate who thought she was his "fairytale ending". The 27-year-old was arrested after colleagues found footage on her body-worn camera of her posing for a selfie with heroin dealer Vincent Ojo while telling him to say "cheese" as she held up two fingers while Ojo stuck his tongue out. Other clips caught Boateng, an officer at HMP Pentonville, using sexualised language with the prisoner and hugging and kissing him in a jail office. The footage also suggested that Boateng had given Ojo confidential information from his files. In one clip he could be heard saying: "Let me see what it says in relation to my…" Ojo had been in the jail since 2020 after being recalled to prison for breaking his licence conditions in relation to a 2016 sentence for possession of heroin with intent to supply. The mother of a three-month-old daughter from Dagenham, Essex, appeared in Snaresbrook Crown Court on Monday to be sentenced for a single count of misconduct in a public office. Judge Caroline English said that it was only the fact Boateng was the sole carer for such a young child that had saved her from prison. Judge English said: "I cannot emphasise enough just how serious this offence is. As a senior prison officer you held a position of authority and trust and were expected to discharge the duties by upholding prison rules. You knowingly breached those conditions with a prisoner who was under your supervision." Katie Evans Officer Katie Evans, 26, was sentenced to 21 months behind bars in March by a judge who told her she had been "manipulated by an experienced criminal". She had been "corrupted" by prisoner Daniel Brownley, who was jailed for attempted robbery, shortly after she started working at HMP Doncaster when she was 21, the court heard. Evans had more than 140 phone calls with Brownley, moved money around bank accounts for him, and supplied him with information the prison held on him, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC said. When talking to Brownley she referred to herself as 'your queen' and boasted to an ex-prison officer that she had performed oral sex on him. Moss, defending, said Evans was "immature and vulnerable" at the time and is "absolutely ashamed of her behaviour". The judge said the sentence should have been longer, but "purely as an act of mercy", he reduced it to take into account the effect it will have on her young daughter and the difficulties she will face as a former officer. Toni Cole In February officer Toni Cole was sentenced to 12 months behind bars after swapping more than 4,000 risqué messages with an inmate she had been entrusted to guard. In January 2023, the 29-year-old female guard engaged in a series of intimate trysts with a convict while working at Northamptonshire's new 'super-prison' HMP Five Wells. Over the course of the illicit romance, Cole sent some 4,369 messages to the con and partook in 18 video calls while participating in "contact which was sexualised or flirtatious". Flouting prison rules, Cole would sit on the knee of her lag lover and kiss him. The game was finally up when bosses got wind of what was really going on. Hayley Jones In August 2024, prison teacher Hayley Jones, 33, pleaded guilty to having an "inappropriate relationship" with convicted killer Jordan McSweeney at HMP Belmarsh. Judge David Miller said: "Some of the evidence was that he was getting special favours or treatment. He may have been bragging to another prisoner about the power that he had over this person." But despite the workshop instructor admitting to misconduct, charges were later dropped against McSweeney as there was "insufficient evidence" to prove the twisted killer was guilty of further criminality. McSweeney is currently serving a minimum term of 33 years for the heinous murder and sexual assault of Zara Aleena, a 35-year-old law graduate, in June 2022. Linda De Sousa Abreu In January HMP Wandsworth officer Linda De Sousa Abreu, 30, was jailed for 15 months after a video was widely shared on social media showing her having sex with an inmate in a cell. The shocking clip, which went viral, captured the woman, clad in uniform, having sex while a cellmate filmed it on a mobile phone. In a prepared statement, De Sousa Abreu claimed she was "terrified for her own safety" prior to the offences. She said: "I thought if I didn't go along with it, they would have both raped me and there was no guard on the landing." The officer, who previously described herself as a swinger, had a number of videos on adult platform OnlyFans, where she described herself as a "happily married sexy Latina" under a pseudonym. At sentencing, Judge Martin Edmunds KC said: "From what I know about you, you were certainly not naïve about the media or social media." He continued: "It must have been obvious that the recording would be shown around and shared, at least amongst prisoners at Wandsworth where it would do the most harm. Whether you intended it or not, the fact is that the video went viral, and caused great harm." He added: "You knew that conduct was forbidden." Morgan Farr Varney Prison guard Morgan Farr Varney's 'physical and romantic relationship" with an inmate while working at HMP Lindholme was exposed after she was caught on CCTV sneaking into a cupboard with the man. A search of the inmate's cell then led discovery of a tranche of love letters, with more found during a search of Farr Varney's bedroom. Farr Varney - who appeared on ITV's This Morning last year to complain of her issues with an online dentistry service - was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in January 2023. In an interview, she told officers she "proper fell in love" with the inmate, and said she was worried that she had "f****d" her life up. After being arrested in January 2023 Farr Varney quit her job at the prison, with the inmate transferred to another prison. But their relationship continued, and police officers later found more photographs of Farr Varney on the inmate following his move to HMP Wealstun in West Yorkshire. Farr Varney pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office at Sheffield Crown Court on April 16 last year, and was remanded in custody. Ayshea Gunn Officer Ayshea Gunn, 27, was jailed for 12 months in December 2019 after having a four-month fling with inmate Khuram Razaq, 29, who was serving time for armed robbery and assault. The pair exchanged more than 1,200 phone calls, including explicit video calls, some of which were streamed over the internet while the prisoner was serving time at HMP Berwyn in Wrexham. Gunn, who has a degree in criminology and psychology, smuggled items into the prison for Razaq, including clothes, a smartwatch and a pair of knickers. Some of the calls were made via a third party in Birmingham in order to cover her tracks, and on other occasions she pretended to be someone else when calling the phone in his cell. Judge Niclas Parry, sentencing Gunn after she admitted misconduct in a public office, said the images were "highly sexualised and pornographic images" created "at significant risk". Defence barriset Peter Hunter said Gunn had become depressed and was "at the bottom in her world", adding: "Somebody showed her affection and she stupidly accepted." Razaq admitted two charges of possessing a specified item inside a prison. Jennifer Gavan Corrupt prison officer Jennifer Gavan was jailed in December 2022 for having an inappropriate relationship with prisoner Alex Coxon, also at HMP Berwyn in Wales, where she was working in April 2020. Coxon, 25, bribed Gavan with £150 to give him a mobile phone, which they used to secretly conduct their relationship. A court heard the pair were rumbled after Coxon's phone was discovered underneath a laptop in his cell with explicit videos found on it which had been sent through Snapchat. Gavan later admitted to sending the image and that she'd kissed Coxon, an inmate with a track record of drugs and robbery. She was described by her own barrister as having "immaturity with an element of naivety", but had shown "empathy" for inmates unable to see visitors during the Covid lockdowns. She had just come out of a very lengthy relationship and was "manipulated" into thinking she was in love. Gavan was jailed for eight months after pleading guilty to misconduct in a pulic office and Coxon was handed 10 months for having a prohibited item in jail. Corinne Redhead In 2022, officer Corinne Redhead, 29, was jailed for having an inmate's baby following a secret year-long fling with convicted robber Robert O'Connor at The Mount prison in Hertfordshire. O'Connor was serving a 10-year sentence when Redhead was working as a supervisor on the wing. The relationship lasted from January 2018 to January 2019. Redhead was caught at six months pregnant after a tip-off led to her fellow officers to search his single cell, where a Samsung Galaxy mobile was found hidden in the U-bend of his toilet. Redhead's number was saved on the phone under the name "my baby" and they had shared video calls and messages which showed they were having a sexual relationship. Redhead later gave birth to a child and named O'Connor as the father on the birth certificate. Drea Becker, mitigating, told Luton Crown Court that Redhead made a "terrible mistake" and "expresses remorse and shame". She was jailed for 25 months. Why do prison flings happen? Criminologist and psychologist Alex Iszatt told the Mirror that these inappropriate flings "occur regularly in prisons, but they are not always driven by sexual attraction". She said a number of factors play a role in a jail fling forming, including "emotional attachment, vulnerability, dependency, power dynamics, trauma bonding and grooming". Alex explained: "When women work in male-dominated prisons, they can become rare, sexualised objects of attention. This dynamic has been portrayed in porn, and occasionally, the boundaries between fantasy and reality can blur." She said prisons can be "isolating environments" which leads officers and inmates to turn to each other. "If officers aren't trained to set boundaries, and supervisors fail to manage effectively, situations can quickly get out of hand - especially if the individual lacks emotional support outside of work," the criminologist continued. Alex said female officers may be more susceptible to relationships if they are "emotionally vulnerable or lonely". "Inmates may exploit these vulnerabilities, particularly if they sense that the officer is seeking emotional validation or attention," she said. Once this relationship takes off, another level of mind games comes into play, with "fear of retaliation, loss of earnings, and loss of respect" potentially forcing the relationship to last longer than planned. "Ultimately, inappropriate relationships between female correctional officers and inmates are not primarily driven by physical attractiveness. Rather, they stem from emotional vulnerability, manipulation, power dynamics, and the stresses of the prison environment, all of which can contribute to boundary-crossing," Alex concluded. In response to the recent surge in the number of prison officers in the UK charged with having sexual encounters with the prisoners, an MoJ spokesman told the Mirror: "The vast majority of our prison officers are honest and hard-working. We will always take robust action against those who are not."
International Business Times
16-05-2025
- International Business Times
Female British Prison Warden Smuggled Syringe to 'Artificially Inseminate' Herself with Inmate's Semen
A female prison officer smuggled a Calpol syringe into jail to "artificially inseminate" herself with an inmate's sperm. Cherri-Ann Austin-Saddington, 29, had a six-month relationship with inmate Bradley Trengrove while working as a warden at HMP The Verne on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. Austin-Saddington Smuggled the Syringe In Her Bra to 'Artifically Inseminate' Herself with Semen Trengrove Kept Wrapped in Cling Film The warden and the inmate had more than 40 sexual encounters that took place in prison workshops while nobody was around. Austin-Saddington also became pregnant as a result but lost the baby. After Trengrove was shifted to another prison, she visited him with an empty syringe in her bra so she could "artificially inseminate" herself with his semen, which he had wrapped in cling film for her. Austin-Saddington, from Weymouth, pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office, but avoided jail as she was given a two-year suspended sentence. Bournemouth Crown Court heard she started working as a prison officer at Verne Prison in July 2019. Austin-Saddington Suspected of Having an Inappropriate Relationship with Two Inmates Austin-Saddington's probation period was extended because she was suspected of having an inappropriate relationship with two prisoners, the court was told, according to The Telegraph. In January 2022, Trengrove, who was serving a 13-year extended jail sentence for raping a woman and having sexual activity with a child, was transferred to the prison. He began a relationship with Austin-Saddington in August of that year. During the affair, she smuggled a mobile phone into the Category C prison for him and saved his name in her phone under "husband to be", the court heard. Robert Bryan, prosecuting, read out messages she sent to Trengrove stating he was "the one", her "reason for living", and that she would love him "til my last breath." Austin-Saddington Became Pregnant After Having Unprotected Sex with Trengrove, Lost the Baby Two Months into Pregnancy The pair had unprotected sex between 30 and 40 times, the court heard. In November, she told him she was pregnant, but lost the baby at about eight weeks. In March 2023, Trengrove was moved to HMP Channings Wood in Devon, where Austin-Saddington tried to send him intimate photos that were intercepted by staff. On May 26 of that year, she visited him under a false name. During a pat down search, officers found she was not wearing underpants and had the empty syringe in her bra. She was arrested immediately after the visit. Trengrove admitted encouraging or assisting her in the misconduct, having a mobile phone inside prison and using it for "unauthorised transmission of images or sound." He was given another two years and three months to serve on top of his original sentence.
